John Stewart - Politician

John Stewart was born in 1789, his father who was Scottish, owned plantations and slaves in Demerara and British Guiana. His mother Mary Duncan was Black and more than likely a slave or former slave. Stewart was educated in England and eventually became the member of parliament (MP) for Lymington in 1832. He was one of the first Mixed Race politicians elected in the UK. Stewart was referred to as ‘a man of colour’. When his father died Stewart took over the plantations so became a slave owner, a Mixed-Race Black man who owned slaves. The plantation earned the Stewart family immense wealth.

As a politician Stewart defended owning slaves and campaigned against the immediate abolition

of slavery. He favoured implementing gradual changes. After politics Stewart continued his successful business career which included becoming a director of the British West India Company and deputy chair of the Universal Life Assurance Society.

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